Connections with Mike Thom and Colleen Houde

Sharon Dutra grew up with a father who was an alcoholic and womanizer. He was married four times before she was 17 years old.  Her mother left when she was five years old, and she has never seen her since.  At just 13 years old Sharon tried to numb the pain with drugs and alcohol. That led her down a path of destruction that landed her in jail 13 times.  It was the last incarceration that led her...

Day for Freedom is an annual event arranged by the Freedom Prayer Network to highlight the people and organizations who are working hard to bring an end to human trafficking. Freedom Prayer Network is a ministry of Fort Richmond Baptist Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  The Steering Team is comprised of members/adherents of FRBC and is co-led by Lowell and Marla Friesen. God has laid on the hearts of...

The indigenous group OKAMA was founded by First Nation leaders Dr. Gerard Roberts, traditional name (Abouyou), of the Karina nation, and his wife Peta-Gay (Tayaliti) Roberts of the Taino/Arawak First Nations. Okama is a Taino word meaning ‘listen’ or ‘hear’. When Peta and Gerard along with their two daughters Gesse-Lea (Ouellechi) and Israel-Rain (Malacaya) released their debut album, Sacred Fire...

In a career that has spanned over 30 years, Steven Curtis Chapman is the most awarded artist in Christian music history with 59 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, five GRAMMY® Awards, an American Music Award, 49 No. 1 singles, has sold more than eleven million albums with ten RIAA-Certified Gold or Platinum albums to his credit. After a couple of years of cancelled tours and concerts, Steven Cu...

No one wants to spend their lives being time-wasters, space-takers, binge-watchers, or game-players. We all want to be difference-makers. But where do you start? Influencing just one person at a time may seem insignificant at first look. But in his book, One at a Time, Kyle Idleman explores the overlooked, yet incredibly impactful habits of Jesus. Today on Connections, bestselling author and pasto...

Natalia Chornomor is the studio director for The Bible Today ministry in Ukraine. They are a ministry partner of Square One World Media in Canada. Today on Connections, Natalia will share, through her daughter Yulia, how God is still working in Ukraine, how we can pray for the people of Ukraine, and how The Bible Today ministry is helping the people in their community. See omnystudio.com/listener...

Life has been a rollercoaster ride for the Derksen family. In November of 1984, Wilma and Cliff Derksen's 13-year-old daughter, Candace, was found murdered after going missing on her way home from school. It wasn’t until 22 years later that Mark Edward Grant was charged with her murder. In 2011, after a five-week trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years without parole.  The case has si...

Recently, Unspoken released their debut single of 2022, “Love Is Everything We Need”. It's the lead song from their first full-length album in three years, which is slated to be released this summer. Unspoken lead vocalist Chad Mattson says the past few years have been challenging, and he hopes this new song will remind believers that love is everything we need. Today on Connections, Chad talks ab...

Today is International Women's Day.  Ottawa Church of Christ chose the theme, This is My Time, for International Women's Day. They hope the message will help encourage, refresh and inspire women to use their God-given talents to lift others, take on challenges with renewed faith and bravely be the women God designed them to be. Today on Connections, Melanie Singh, women's ministry leader at Ottawa...

Receiving over 236 million on-demand streams, 125 million music video views, 457,000 album sales and 870,000 track sales, Unspoken’s music is as distinct as its roots. Recently, Unspoken released their debut single of 2022, “Love Is Everything We Need”. It is the lead song from their first full-length album in three years, which is slated to release in July. Unspoken lead vocalist Chad Mattson say...

As the war on Ukraine continues into its second week, more than 1.7 million Ukrainians have left their homes for refuge in neighbouring countries.  Ed Dickson is the overseas director of Loads of Love Humanitarian Aid and Mission Society. He and his family have been serving orphan children, seniors, refugees and local churches in Ukraine since 1996. Ed is currently on a year-long furlough in Canad...

While he’s been creating music and touring, sharing his message with others for a long time now, Jordan St. Cyr is really just getting started. From playing numerous events of all sizes and meeting people from many different walks of life, humanity’s deep desire for meaningful connection has been revealed to him and the hope to find something more vibrant than our current reality. Now in 2022, aft...

Bipolar disorder was a life-shattering struggle for Scott W. Box, a worship leader of 25 years. Eventually, it took laying down his vocation to understand what it meant to live out worship rather than just leading it. In the process, he discovered a life of desperate hopefulness— a life of heroic disgrace. His debut book, Heroic Disgrace displays the paradox that Box believes Jesus lived and breat...

Kristi is a professor at Williamson College and serves as a biblical culturalist. She has a Masters in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary and has dedicated her life to teaching people how to study the Bible. After studying in Israel and Egypt in 2007 and discovering that God is better than she ever knew, Kristi has been teaching the Bible through a Middle Eastern lens. She's now...

Last fall, Alpha Canada and Barna released research on Canadian GenZ’ers and their understanding of evangelism. The findings were both startling and encouraging and gave church leaders some excellent insight. Alpha Canada responded by releasing a free, 4-video series called LIFE ON PURPOSE to equip and inspire students to engage in conversations about faith, with their friends, in ways that connec...

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good has been working in the anti-sex trafficking industry for more than 10 years as the CEO of The Foundation United and has seen the all-too-common story of kids being abused, running away and falling into trafficking. As was her own story as well, many of these young people were abused at the hands of church leaders and felt compelled to keep it a secret. Elizabeth rec...

At 26, Baylor Wilson has already lived a life most people only dream about – excelling at competitive cheerleading, starring in Season 29 of CBS’s Survivor, scoring a country music publishing deal – all before graduating from college.   But according to Baylor, these life-making moments were just a precursor to the abundant life she found when she met Jesus. Today on Connections, Baylor shares her...

Ukraine's president says Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom. Russia is shelling and conducting airstrikes on cities and bases and Ukraine's government says Russian tanks and troops rolled across the border in what it called a full-scale war. Ukrainians are gathering in train stations and clogging highways as Russian forces advance f...

At 26, Baylor Wilson has already lived a life most people only dream about – excelling at competitive cheerleading, starring in Season 29 of CBS’s Survivor, scoring a country music publishing deal – all before graduating from college.   But according to Baylor, these life-making moments were just a precursor to the abundant life she found when she met Jesus. Today on Connections, Baylor shares her...

Paul Plett is a Canadian filmmaker who has just launched a crowdfunding campaign of hopes of making his newest project a reality. Surviving Suicide is a documentary about four people touched by suicide, living for hope. The documentary explores the lives of 4 people who have been touched by suicide. "Throughout the film, we get to know these people, the role that suicide has played in their lives,...

With the success of Marie Kondo, a new Netflix documentary, and hundreds of blogs and YouTube videos on minimalism, it’s clear that it is more than just a trend. In a time of climate change and a pandemic, people are looking for new ways to live well and more meaningful lives, and minimalism is meeting that need. Consuming less may already be an environmental and personal priority, but Becca Ehrli...

Singer/songwriter, Katy Nichole, has not only gone viral, now reaching well over 150 million people with the chorus to her debut single "In Jesus Name (God of Possible)," but she has also reached the second-highest position on iTunes’ overall Top Songs chart while remaining No. 1 on the iTunes Christian & Gospel chart since the song’s release. Today on Connections, Katy shares what it's been like...

At the core of humanity is the desire to live a life reconciled with others. P. Brian Noble, executive director of Peacemaker Ministries, says every son wants to be reconciled with their father, every daughter with their mother, and yet we all experience tough relationships in our lives. Learning to navigate and mend even our most difficult relationships is an important part of God’s plan for us t...

Mac Powell, originally from Alabama, moved to Atlanta, GA as a sophomore in high school, where he would soon co-found the Christian rock band, Third Day. Throughout their nearly three-decade career, the band sold over 10 million albums, earned four Grammy Awards, one American Music Award, 24 Dove Awards, and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Since Third Day’s farewell tour in 2018,...

Diana Crouch was just 18 weeks pregnant when she tested positive for COVID-19.  This diagnosis sent their family on a downward spiral that included strokes, a heart attack and numerous seizures.  Diana managed to come out of it all with a precious baby boy that they have named after the doctor that helped save her life.  Today on Connections, Diana's husband, Chris shares their family's miracle st...